LOS ANGELES, CA (Thursday, October 12) – Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con and Time Inc.’s (NYSE: TIME) ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (EW), the official media partner of the 2017 edition of L.A. Comic Con, announced today that Dwayne Johnson will make a special appearance at the convention. On Saturday, October 28, Johnson will appear on behalf of his upcoming film “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which hits theatres December 20. The 3-day pop culture extravaganza runs from October 27-29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

As the Official Media Partner, EWis collaborating with L.A. Comic Con to enhance and elevate talent participation and programming for the over 100,000 attendees expected for this year’s 3-day mega-convention. EW will feature all the fun and excitement of the Convention in the magazine as well as on EW.com. And to top it all off, each and every badge holder will receive a one-year subscription to America’s leading pop culture magazine, with a total combined audience of 26 million consumers.

2017 marks the 7th year for Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con, which has grown into one of the largest gatherings of stars and creative talent in comic book, publishing, gaming, film, broadcast, cable and streaming entertainment.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY is your all-access pass to Hollywood’s most creative minds and most fascinating stars. The magazine was launched by Time Inc. in 1990 and is America’s leading consumer publication in the entertainment category, with a guaranteed circulation rate base of 1.5 million and a combined audience of almost 28 million loyal, engaged fans. Each day, EW.com publishes a myriad of featured stories, news articles, TV-recaps, original videos, film reviews and photo galleries. The PEOPLE/ENTERTAINMENT WEEKKLY Digital Network continues to rank as the #1 site in its competitive set with close to 100 million monthly unique visitors. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY is the first to know about the best in entertainment. With sharp insight, unparalleled access and a trusted voice, EW keeps readers plugged into pop culture. This is where the buzz begins.

2) Halo Top – I’m obsessed with this ice cream. It is about 300 calories in an entire pint, it’s packed with protein, and it comes in really good flavors. I think the only ones I don’t care for are Red Velvet because that’s disgusting in general (don’t argue with me!) and Oatmeal Cookie because it was meh. Pro tip: Crumble a few pretzels into the Salted Caramel one and enjoy! 😛

3) Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return – I used to watch MST3K as a kid, so I was both excited and a little nervous about this reboot not living up to my fond memories. I really love it though! Jonah Ray is doing a great job in the hero role and Patton Oswalt and Felicia Day as the villains? Come on. Gold.

4) Farm Sanctuary – I had the opportunity to transport an animal to this facility recently and take a tour while I was there, and I just have to give these guys props. It’s clear how much they love these animals by the care they provide.

Look at these cute lil turkeys! See the bandage on the white ones foot? It has a little infection so they’re taking care of it. 😥

5) Oxygen Not Included – You all know that I’m a fan of Klei’s Don’t Starve game, and this is there new venture! It feels more technical than Don’t Starve, but maybe that’s just because it takes place in space. You have to build your little people a bunker, make sure they have places to sleep, enough resources, sustainable oxygen levels, etc.

I’m new to it, but it’s just as addictive as Don’t Starve and I’m really getting into it. Check it out!

That’s it for this month. Stay tuned for more posts about LA Comic Con and the Labyrinth Masquerade I’ll be attending!

Alright, ladies and germs, the time is here! I’ve decided that at L.A. Comic Con, I’ll be cosplaying as…

*drum roll please*

Quick two minute doodle I did on the tablet

Margaret Lanterman aka LOG LADY from Twin Peaks! It’s a weird choice, I know, but I like weird. I can’t wait to see you all there to discuss owls, sticking gum under counters/seats, and perhaps a special kind of oil.

Five Favorite things! This time it is for the month of August. These are basically just things I’m excited about currently. It’s like Oprah’s favorite things only you have no reason to listen to me, and you’re not getting a new Prius or a lifetime supply of stainless steel cooking knives by Mariooooooo Bataliiiiiiiiiiii! So…useless sort of. Whatever, read anyway. 😛

Overdrive app – My friend Susie told me about this app and I’m obsessed now. You link it to your library card and can place holds, borrow ebooks, etc. with a little tap on the screen. I’m still figuring it out, but I’ve blown through half a dozen books already. I have a long commute (about an hour in the mornings and evenings – 45 mins at best), so I can really cruise through audiobooks. Recent reads include Neverwhere, The Maze Runner, Gone Girl, American Sniper,TheInvisible Man, and The Devil Wins. Speaking of…

Neverwhere – I LOVED this book. It’s my first experience with Neil Gaiman, but I’ve been wanting to read his stuff for a while. Everyone has a different favorite of his, so I put holds on every audiobook of his that they had in my local library, and this one was the first one I was loaned. The world is so beautiful. Honestly, I got a little obsessed. I’m so glad to hear that now that he’s done with Norse Mythology and American Gods is underway on TV he is working on the sequel to this book. YAY!

Beautiful interpretations of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, two of my favorite characters (click the photos for source artists as well as I can tell):

Wraps – Switching over to a veggie-only diet could have been challenging, but wraps have been one of my favorite things for super filling dinners. My favorite recipe right now is Sundried Tomato and Basil tortilla, a dollop of Athenos plain hummus, a handful of baby spinach, some cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, black pepper, and slow roasted chickpeas. If you want to go really buckwild, add a drizzle of light Italian dressing. Et voila!

Art Set Pro – With the new tablet, I realized I needed a decent program to doodle in. I did some research, and while I’m keen to try several more, I’m very happy with the one I chose based on reviews: Art Set. It lets you use multiple tools (pastel, crayon, pen, paint brush, etc.) and lets you adjust things like opacity, thickness, etc. It’s been very helpful for me. Here’s a little sampling of things I’ve done thus far:

Outrider Design by Ryan Lynch – I love this guy’s designs. His patches, pins, mugs, etc. are mostly Southwest/American West-inspired. You can buy his stuff here. These are my favorites that are on my wishlist:

I’m a mug junkie so the Midnight Oil one is high on my list. Perfect camping mug. ❤

Look for next month’s edition of my Five Favorite Things and thank you for reading!

I’ve already expressed my love of nerdy things through cosplay, DIY projects, and obviously, writing, but I wanted to share a new medium as well. I recently was gifted an iPad Pro, so I’ll be sharing art projects on my twitter page/here from time to time. Follow me there for a look at one of my passions!

I won’t be able to attend ScareLA unfortunately. Not a good year for conventions, I’ll tell ya! I will be traveling for a good chunk of con season and other things are just getting in the way. I wiiiiiiiiiiill be at Stan Lee’s LACC though. (*Fingers crossed*)

And you know who I’ll be going as? Let’s narrow it down by show…

There are quite a few hot babes on the show and some bad ass dudes. Who could it be?! Audrey? Coop? Bob?!!!?!?!?!

My mom came to visit me recently (check my twitter feed for some of her ridiculous quotes) and she brought me some pictures for my “portfolio.” It was really sweet. I think she thinks because of my arts background that I’ll end up doing this for a living somehow. Nahhhh, just fun to play dress up. Like a big kid. 😛

Note that the stunning girl on the upper right dressed up as Lily Munster is the makeup job I did on a girlfriend and not moi!

Sorry I’ve been MIA. I’ve been busy writing for ScreenPicks.com and my other site, ebcorbin.com, along with lots of other life crap. Rest assured though, this site is my first love. ❤

So, are you all excited about Game of Thrones? Twin Peaks? Stranger Things Season 2? IT? It’s kind of a nerd’s dream right now, huh? I know I’m dying for all of these. I’ll be talking about some of these later on the site.

Before I get to that though, I wanted to give an update on upcoming cosplay/con plans. Here is where I’ll be:

ScareLA (August 4-5)

Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con (October 27-29)

I really hope I get to see some of you there! It’s honestly been so nice for someone who is an introvert to form and maintain friendships at these conventions. Nerds unite!!!

Just so you know, I’m likely not going in costume to ScareLA because I’d like to talk to some vendors and my masks/makeup/props have hindered me in the past when it comes to this.

Me: “Herrrerrryerrrlaaaahheeenuhcahhhh?”

Vendor: “I’m sorry…what was that?”

Me: “Howwww areeee youuuuu likiiiiiing theee coooooon?”

Vendor: “Ohhhhhhh! Yeah, it’s alright.”

Of course, I could always change my mind. No cosplay is my plan at the moment though.

However, I WILL be dressed up for Stan Lee’s LACC. Can you guess what I’ll be going as?? Hint hint: It has something to do with one of the shows mentioned above. 😉

Not really a “project” but it was DIY! I ended up dying the shirt I got at Monsterpalooza, and I wanted to share because I dug the way it turned out. I’d never dyed anything before, so this was a first, but it was really easy. I just did cold water in a tub + packet of dye + 1 cup of salt. Stirred it up and boom!

I had a wonderful time at Monsterpalooza and wanted to share it with you all. It was my first time going. I’ve been to Son of Monsterpalooza which is a smaller spin-off show held in Burbank, but this one was in Pasadena, the same spot where they hold ScareLA.

I wanted to reuse an old costume piece — my vargulf mask (pictured below) that I made.

I’d just like to say that somehow my PJs in this shot are missing (Tina >:[ ) and my jacket is gone (most likely goblins).

So, I repainted the mask brown and gave it a glossy finish this time with Mod Podge so that it would have a wet look as if it was actually coming out of my face. I also wanted this one to look more like it was extending from my mouth a la The Howling or The Company of Wolves and less just raw carnage like Hemlock Grove. For this reason, I used a portion of a pre-existing mask with a nose already on it, modeling wax, liquid latex, and concealer.

So here were my initial plans:

I have to do step by step so I don’t accidentally do things out of order and screw myself over. For instance, if I had applied my sharp claw-nails before I put my contacts in, I would have an entirely different look on my hands–Little Blind Riding Hood

Here is the actual evolution that took place, and I think it was pretty close to my notes if I do say so myself:

Personally, I think I could have stopped at the first step because I looked crazy hot. Out of control sexy.

A better look at the finished product:

Things I learned:

Putting in contacts is hard and may cause swearing, fist shaking, and in rare instances, unwaranted scolding of pets who are just innocently watching you

We should all have crazy respect for SFX artists because what they do is insanely difficult

Knowing your materials is important

Sometimes going for the trusted brands/slightly more expensive ones is worth it

You may realize halfway through that your plans are flawed and have to improvise

You can’t see it in the headshots above but I had a red hair bow, wig, velvet cape, black dress, and red sparkly flats. I also used a basket and put flowers and a handmade card for Red Riding Hood’s sick grandmother in it. It was kind of fun creating the card because I had to pretend to be a kid and draw stick figures.

I was there all evening Friday and got to see the museum with awesome props, cool cosplay, artists both old and new, and some really sweet collectibles. Here’s a look of the shots I took.

My favorite things were probably watching the SFX makeup being done in real time and being able to look at all the props up close and personal. Both things just left me awe struck. These artists are such visionaries. In order to work in this field you have to be able to see in layers. I don’t think people realize that. Or maybe we all just take it for granted. I know I certainly do. These people though — they have to be able to see the end product in their minds and have the patience and determination to bring it to life. It’s just so inspiring. ❤

As for the swag I picked up, I kept it to a minimum this time around. I got a shirt and a patch from my pal the Boogey Man, and I got two claw machine plushies to round out my monster collection!

When I went to Long Beach Comic Expo I got a Chaney Wolf Man, Karloff Mummy, and Lugosi Dracula but they were out of Frankenstein’s Monster and The Bride. When I saw these I snatched them up super quickly. I’m thinking about sewing all of their little hands together to create a garland. Thoughts?

I also have dye because I’m not really a white shirt type of gal. I usually go black or jewel tones. I am going to dye the Freak Show shirt jack-o-lantern orange. It will be my first time doing something like this so hopefully it turns out alright!

Well, that’s it. It was a blast and I look forward to the next con. Most likely it will be ScareLA. Please note I won’t be able to make it to LBCC in September because I have bridesmaidly duties in a friend’s wedding. Womp womp. Still, me in a bright turquoise 50’s-inspired dress is pretty close to cosplay. 😛